The Beginning
by hmweasley
Summary: While by an unconscious Finn's bedside, Rey gets her first opportunity to actually speak with Poe Dameron.


**A/N:** **My first Star Wars fic! This has been a long time coming. This story is another one that I wrote to help me think about a larger idea. Because of that, I wasn't precise about making sure it fit into the movie's timeline. There may be some errors. Also, there are no explicit pairings in this, but I think you can read any combination of Rey/Finn/Poe into it if you'd like. Do as you please.**

"Was all so different once upon a time."

– "The Beginning" by Little Mix

Finn breathed steadily in and out. Rey watched his chest rise and fall, trying to mimic his breaths. The effort had a calming effect, forcing her racing mind to slow.

A lot had happened in what Rey now realized had been a remarkably short time span. There hadn't been much time to reflect before, but Rey's entire life had changed in the blink of an eye. It was impossible to believe after so many years on Jakku, doing the same thing each and every day. While Rey had always held hope that her family would come back for her, she hadn't been prepared for a change in routine. That routine had been all she'd known.

Since she was a little girl, Rey had awaited the family that would welcome her back with loving arms. She'd dreamt of what it would be like to care for someone and have them care for you in return. She'd never experienced it before.

Then Finn had dropped onto Jakku, quite literally, and Rey had begun to experience it.

The realization was a shocking one. After wishing for a family for so long, Rey had gotten Finn. He wasn't family in the sense she had been waiting for, but he was already becoming something close. Rey wasn't sure what it meant or how she felt about him. It was a new feeling, but Rey had never even had _friends_ before. How was she supposed to know if she felt friendship or something stronger? She thought Finn was already something more like family, what with the way they'd put their lives at risk for each other. "Friends" didn't cut it.

Finn's breathing remained steady, and Rey struggled to keep hers the same, yet it became difficult as she watched him. The reality of what could have happened to him, what they had watched happen to Han Solo, it all washed over her until it felt like something heavy was pressing in on her lungs.

Movement to her side startled her, and Rey twirled around in her seat to face Poe Dameron. He offered her a small smile, one that clearly held a 'sorry' for having scared her. He didn't say anything as he took a seat beside her. She watched him as he watched Finn, something like sadness on his features.

They hadn't spoken much, Rey and Poe. She'd gathered enough to know that Finn had met him before meeting her, and she had already been told of his prowess as a Rebel pilot. That was the extent of her knowledge of him. She knew nothing of him as a person, something that led her to put her guard up as he sat beside her.

"You know," Poe commented, breaking the silence, "I always kind of figured that Stormtroopers couldn't be injured. Sure, I've shot my fair share before, but with how many of them there are and how they all look the same in that uniform, I never believed any of them ever died."

Rey watched him, staying silent. In all honesty, she had forgotten about Finn's past as a Stormtrooper. It was hard to believe he had existed before he'd appeared on Jakku, as foolish as it was of her to believe such a thing. There was a whole galaxy out there full of people who existed without appearing in Rey's life. The galaxy didn't revolve around her measly life on Jakku.

Poe was unconcerned about Rey's lack of a response to his words. His attention was too focused on Finn to notice much else anyway.

"I'm glad he's okay," Poe said quietly.

Rey felt a tug at her heart. She thought she could grow fond of Poe Dameron if she was given the chance. Something about how much he cared about Finn, despite what little time they'd spent together, left her feeling that Poe was someone to be trusted. Perhaps he was even someone she could grow to care for in the same way that she did Finn. She was growing more open to such possibilities than she had been in the past.

Rey spoke for the first time. "They said he'd be fine." She suddenly felt a need to assure Poe of Finn's safety, to make sure that he didn't worry too much for their friend. "I was scared at first that he wouldn't be, but they said he'd be fine."

Poe looked over at her for the first time since he'd sat down, and the smile he offered her looked something like encouragement. Rey inwardly cursed herself. She'd been trying to make Poe feel better, and somehow, it seemed like he was trying to comfort her. There had been far too much emotion in her voice, emotion that she hadn't intended to show.

Rey looked away, focusing instead on the rise and fall of Finn's chest again. She could feel when Poe's eyes shifted from her back to Finn. When he spoke again, it startled her.

"He's quite endearing, isn't he?"

Rey looked over at him again, a question in her eyes.

"Finn," Poe said, inclining his head towards the man in question, as if the subject of his words were what Rey was questioning. "I should never have trusted a Stormtrooper, even in circumstances as dire as those I was in. Using the situation to my advantage wasn't dumb, but when it comes down to it, I grew to trust Finn without knowing him. I shouldn't have, not with my past experiences with Stormtroopers, but I did."

Part of Rey wanted to express how similarly she had felt when faced with Finn. Life on Jakku hadn't been easy. Rey had never been able to trust anyone, yet she had trusted Finn almost immediately. It had been in direct opposition to all of her life experiences so far, but she had done it without much thought.

She didn't tell Poe any of that.

"You were right to," she said instead.

Poe hummed in agreement and gave Rey a knowing look, one that caused her to stare back at him defiantly.

"He did it to you too, didn't he?" Poe asked, sounding amused.

Rey gave a slight shrug. "More or less," she allowed. Then she felt another tug on her heart, and she couldn't help but admit, "He was kind of the first friend I'd ever had." She thought for a moment. "Except maybe BB-8."

Poe let out such a loud peal of laughter that Rey glanced at Finn to see if it had managed to wake him up. It hadn't.

"Of course," Poe said, still not finished laughing. "BB-8 does know how to wrap people around their nonexistent fingers."

Rey said nothing as Poe worked on calming his laughter. Once he had, he continued.

"But if there's anyone who could give BB-8 a run for their money, it's Finn."

Rey hummed in agreement.

Leia called Rey's name from another room, and Rey glanced back, not wanting to leave Finn behind. She glanced back at her companion, seeing Poe grinning at her.

"Go before the General gets angry," he urged her. "Although," he said before she could stand, "Rey, I do hope we can have more moments like this in the future. I have a feeling that anyone who can come to care for Finn so quickly is someone I'd like to get to know as well."

Rey grinned at him as she stood.

"I hope so too," she assured him.

As she walked away from Finn and Poe, Rey couldn't help but feel that something important had just happened. It was a feeling she was growing used to recently. When she'd met Finn, something had told her how important of a role he would play in her life. Now she felt something similar towards Poe.

She didn't know him that well yet. Hell, she didn't know Finn that well yet. Still, she knew they would be important to her and that, potentially, their friendship could play an important role in the galaxy's future. How she knew, she couldn't say.


End file.
